Tremolo for organ



Jan. 30, 1962 A. w. IMHOFF 3,018,682

TREMOLO FOR ORGAN Filed June 11,

L Q I JNVENTOR.

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ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,018,682 TREMOLO FOR ORGAN Albert W. Imhoif, Orrville, Ohio, assignor to Schantz Organ This invention relates to an improvement in pipe organs and more particularly it pertains to a device for producing a tremulous or pulsating effect for adding warmth and beauty to the tone or chord of an organ.

Prior pipe organs have been provided with tremoloproducing mechanisms of various types which have satisfied the need for such devices to a limited extent. Valve means have been used in the air supply lines of organs for producing an improved tremolo to suit the style of each organist. Most of such devices have been used either in the air line for each pipe or for combinations of several pipes. A primary difficulty with such devices has been not only'one of cost of installation but also maintenance in view of a great number of such devices for each instrument.

Tremolo mechanisms have more recently been provided to affect air reservoirs leading to all or some of the pipes, for which purpose they have been mounted on the top of the air reservoirs, the upper portion of which is provided with a bellows. Such devices have been unsatisfactory because they have been noisy. More particularly, however, they have been objectionable because the vibration, being situated directly on the bellows, causes the bellows to vibrate transversely of the direction in which the bellows are built to operate. As a result, such sideway vibrations cause the bellows to deteriorate and eventually cause air leakage, for which reason frequent replacement of the bellows has been necessary. This is particularly true where the bellows are made of leather.

It has been found that where a tremolo device is attached to the air reservoir to actuate the bellows thereof without the detrimental side movements, an improved tremolo effect results. Moreover, the entire tremolo effect is devoid of any undesirable noise clue to operation of the tremolo device. Finally, the bellows operates without the deteriorating sideway vibrations.

Accordingly, it is a general object of this invention to provide a tremolo for a pipe organ which is designed to operate on any type of air reservoir regardless of air pressure.

It is another object of this invention to provide a tremolo device which operates quietly without undesirable operating noise.

It is another object of this invention to provide a tremolo device which preserves the air bellows for operating for longer periods of time.

Finally, it is an object of this invention to provide a tremolo device for an organ which is easy to install and accomplishes the foregoing objects and desiderata in a simple and effective manner.

These and other objects and advantages apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description and claims may be obtained, the stated results achieved, and the described difficulties overcome by the discoveries, principles, apparatus, parts, elements, combinations and suhcombinations which comprise the present invention, the nature of which is set forth in the following general statement, a preferred embodiment of whichillustrative of the best mode in which applicant has contemplated applying the principlesis set forth in the following description and shown in the drawing, and which is particularly and distinctly pointed out and set forth in the appended claims forming part hereof.

The tremolo-producing device of the present invention 3,018,682 Patenteddan. 30, 19,62

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may be stated in general terms as including an air reservoir for a pipe organ, the reservoir having an air bellows in conjunction therewith, a rotatable wheel cam mounted adjacent the reservoir, an electric motor for rotating the wheel cam, a lever pivotally connected substantially centrally thereof to one end of the bellows, one end of the lever having a weight mounted thereon, and a connecting rod pivotally secured to the other end of the lever and extending to and journally mounted on the wheel cam, whereby operation of the wheel cam causes the bellows to operate with a tremulous effect on the tone or chord of organ music.

Referring to the drawing, in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown by way of example and in which similar numerals refer to similar parts:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of a tremolo attached to an air reservoir for an organ; and

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the construction shown in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 1 an air'reservoir or plenum chamber 1 is mounted on legs 2 on a floor 3. An air supply conduit 4 communicating with the reservoir 1 through the undersurface thereof leads to a division of organ pipes (not shown). The top portion of the reservoir 1 includes a bellows 5, the upper side of which is covered by a rigid top 6. A spring 7 is mounted at each corner of the bellows to create yielding pressure against air in the reservoir. Accordingly, as the bellows 5 is actuated, air within the reservoir 1 is transmitted through the pipe 4.

A tremolo-producing device, which is more commonly referred to merely as a tremolo, is generally indicated at 8. It includes a motor 9, a wheel cam 10, a connecting rod 11, and a lever 12.

The motor 9 and the wheel cam 16 are mounted on a plate 13 which is secured to the floor 3. Between the motor 9 and the plate 13 is a rubber base plate 14, all of which are secured together by mounting bolts 15. On the shaft of the motor 9 a pulley 16 is provided and a number of fan blades 17 rotate with the pulley to cool the motor 9 during operation. The wheel cam 10 has an outer V-shaped periphery and is aligned with the pulley 16. A pulley belt 18 is connected between the pulley 16 and the wheel cam 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the wheel cam 10 is mounted on a stub shaft 19 that is mounted in similar journals 20 by bolts 21 on a block 22 which is secured to the plate 13.

As shown in the drawing, the cam wheel 10 is provided with a number, preferably three, of pins 23, each of which is mounted on a different radius from the center of the cam 10. Thus, as the wheel cam 10 rotates, varying cycles of vibration may be imparted to the bellows 6 by mounting the lower end of the connecting rod 11 on one of the pins 23.

In FIG. 1, the rod 11 is mounted on the particular pin 23a by a bushing 24. The upper end of the rod 11 is pivotally connected at one end of the lever 12 by a pin 25. Similarly, the lever 12 is pivotally secured at the upper end of a yoke 26 by a pin 27. It is preferred that the lever 12 be connected to the yoke 26 at about the central portion of the lever rather than at one end thereof. The lower end of the yoke 26 is rigidly secured at 28 to the upper surface of the rigid top 6 of the bellows 5.

The extremity of the lever 12 remote from the rod 11 is provided with a weight 29 which may be composed of lead and which may be of any size to provide a more or less violent tremolo. The weight 29 is secured on the lever 12 by a bolt 30.

The device of the present invention is an improvement over prior construction because it provides an effective means for producing a tremulous or vibrato effect in organ music. The device operates in a quiet manner and without creating sideway vibrations in the bellows of an air reservoir, which bellow deteriorates quickly due to the side-shaking elfects of prior tremolo devices.

More particularly, the tremolo construction of the present invention is mounted on a solid base such as a floor and is operatively connected by a lever and rod combination to the bellows in a manner which actuates air bellows only in the manner for which the bellows were constructed to operate. All side-shake and transverse bellows motions are eliminated, which results in a quieter and longer lasting bellows. Moreover, unlike prior constructions in which the motor was mounted directly on the bellows and thereby resulted in suflicient shaking to cause the electric wires leading to the motor, to become loose and separate, such eventuality is no longer possible.

In the foregoing description certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness and understanding, but no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirements of the prior art, because such words are used for descriptive purposes herein and are intended to be broadly construed.

Moreover, the embodiment of the improved construction illustrated and described herein is by way of example, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown.

Having now described the features, constructions and principles of the invention, the characteristics of the tremolo for organ, and the advantageous, new and useful results provided; the new and useful discoveries, principles, parts, elements, combinations, subcombinations, structures and arrangements, and mechanical equivalents obvious to those skilled in the art are set forth in the appended claim.

I claim:

In an organ of the type having pipes and having an air reservoir with bellows mounted on a base and connected to the pipes; the combination of a bellows-protecting tremolo-producing device including a rotatable wheel cam on the base spaced from the bellows, a lever pivotally mounted intermediate its length centrally of the bellows, a connecting rod extending between the wheel cam and the lever and being pivotally connected to one end of the lever, and a weight mounted on the other end of the lever remote from the connecting rod, whereby the central connection of the lever to the bellows as well as the weight on the end of the lever provide movement of the bellows without transverse vibrations.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,439652 Till Dec. 19, 1922 2,198,160 Gollnick Apr. 23, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS 242,099 Germany Dec. 22, 1911 433,774 Great Britain Aug. 20, 1935 

